Millions of dollars are going to Georgia farms and small businesses in an effort to help implement renewable energy technology, federal officials said Friday.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $3.1 million dollars would go to farms and small businesses in rural Georgia from grants that mainly stem from the Inflation Reduction Act.
The money will go directly to the pockets of farmers and a few small businesses from northern Georgia to the coastal islands in an effort to increase their income, grow their businesses and address climate change while lowering energy costs.
“We are hard at work, continuing what we’ve always done, which is supporting rural small businesses and farmers as they create jobs for their communities and drive economic prosperity,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said at a press conference in Maine.
“As part of this latest investment through the Inflation Reduction Act, today we’re proud to announce 24 farms and small businesses across Georgia will receive $3.1 million to lower their energy costs and invest in new energy infrastructure,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The awards in Georgia range from $16,000 to $332,000.
“Delivering clean energy investments that will help farmers and business owners in rural Georgia lower their energy costs and save money is a win-win for our economy and our environment,” Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said in an email. “This is exactly the kind of progress I had in mind when we worked to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, and I’m glad to see the benefits of that law continue flowing to Georgia communities surrounding Columbus and across our great state.”
In Georgia, the USDA calculated the combined annual savings of the 24 recipients would net $3.6 million for switching to solar and updating irrigation engines or wood chipper equipment.
Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the USDA has invested more than $2.2 billion through the Rural Energy for America Program in 7,566 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, according to the USDA press release.
“Senator Warnock and I continue to champion energy security and energy independence to lower energy costs for Georgia’s farmers and businesses,” Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff said in a statement to the L-E. “I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Vilsack for helping deliver this investment in Georgia’s energy future.”
The majority of the Georgia recipients were in central Georgia, Dodge County, just southwest of Macon.
Just over a dozen of the awards are going towards switching irrigation systems from diesel to electric engines.
In Dodge County, three row crop farmers are getting $87,000, $94,000, and $85,000 to save money on fuel and create more efficient irrigation by switching to an electric engine. The USDA estimates the farmers will save $14,000, $16,000, and $13,000 annually from this investment in a clean energy.
Dodge County is represented by Republican Rep. Adam Scott, who previously has opposed environmental protection and told NPR in 2013 he denies human-caused climate change.
His office did not respond to a request for comment about the USDA’s announcement in time for publication.
A forest management company, Milwood Brothers Inc., is getting a new Bandit Model 3590XL towable whole-tree chipper with its $229,000 grant. The USDA estimates the company will be able to chip enough wood to earn $3.3 million a year.
Six projects, mainly across northern Georgia, in Bartow, Glynn, Towns, Stephens and Banks County will get solar arrays installed at poultry farms and small accounting firms, averaging 183 kW/h of energy. One of the six solar energy projects in Macon County, HengKim Chhay poultry farm, plans to install the most panels of all the winners: 250 kW of solar arrays.
“I’m glad that two businesses in Macon County, Georgia, received at total of $406,476 in REAP grants today,” Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop said in an email.
The USDA is still accepting applications for this program and has set aside a portion of the program’s money to support underutilized renewable energy technologies, like wind and geothermal power. To find out if you can apply contact state local energy coordinator, joseph.anderson@usda.gov, (706) 552-2560.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Ledger-Enquirer.
